


Perihelion

by nationalnobody



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Cashton, M/M, Pining, Slow Dancing, back on ao3 after agesss wassup B), literally everyone adores cal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-22
Updated: 2015-05-22
Packaged: 2018-03-31 17:15:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3986290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nationalnobody/pseuds/nationalnobody
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The same day the sky cried, Ashton did as well but then Calum smiled at him and everything seemed so small in scale to that precious smile. Two years later, Calum is crying and Ashton doesn't realise it but he's the one to make it stop.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perihelion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [selvish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/selvish/gifts).



> ik this isn't a brothers au but hope you like it anyway (Ɔ ˘⌣˘)♥(˘⌣˘ C)

He is the sun, he is the moon, he is the stars. He is everything in Ashton's life that gives and reflects light. He is all that keeps the dark away. He is the embodiment of adoration and flowers that never wilt. His bones are made of stardust and his eyes of Christmas lights that never seem to dim. It is like he is everywhere with the way the thought of him consumes people's minds - _Ashton's_ mind.  
  
His name is Calum.  
  
His presence alone is ethereal and when he walks, he leaves life in his wake. It is silly, Ashton tells himself, because he knows the once wilted plants have only recovered due to Calum taking care of them and not because he has magic at the tips of his fingers.  
  
Maybe, Ashton thinks, Calum does not have magic at the tips of his fingers; maybe, he has it in his tongue because his words settle arguments and his voice washes over everyone in calming waves so much so that Ashton would not mind drowning if it felt like this.  
  
And though Ashton is many things, naïve is not one of them. He is not the only one who Calum has captured the interest of, in fact, he will never be the only one so long as Calum walks the Earth.  
  
He is their beacon of light in the little school they go to, a light that must never go out. He is all that everyone wants and though he gives so many hugs, lends out his hand countlessly, it is as if nobody can reach him – _touch_ him.  
  
Ashton has never tried to reach Calum before, he has always stayed his distance. He has only ever hugged him once, on a cold day two years ago in July when the wind was chilly and nipped at his skin and the sky cried long and hard. He remembers, when Calum smiled at him, the way the sky stopped crying - he remembers when _he_ stopped crying and then suddenly, all he could think about was Calum.  
  
Calum. Calum. Calum.  
  
Every waking thought, every dream he dreamed, every interval. It was only Calum.  
  
And now, a whole two years later, he is still drowning in the thoughts of those enrapturing brown eyes. He decides he needs to do something. He's not sure what, he'll work out the finer details when he has to but now? Now he's making his way down the hall to where Calum's last class of the day is. He's been watching the younger boy for ages, as creepy as it sounds, and he's practically got his entire schedule down.  
  
With a surprisingly steadfast resolve, he makes his way to the science lab. However, when he gets there and peers into the small class, he can't seem to find Calum.  
  
So, trying not to seem too weird, he knocks on the door and walks into the class.  
  
The teacher glances up almost immediately and Ashton can feel his heart rate pick up drastically. "Yes?" The teacher asks expectantly and Ashton almost crumbles under the weight of her gaze.  
  
"The, uh, the office is asking for-" He pauses, attempting to make it look like he has to wrack his brain for the name he is always thinking of, "-Calum Hood?" It ends more as a question and many of the students in the class are giving his incredulous looks, _as if you could forget Calum's name_ , they silently say.  
  
Before the teacher can answer, a boy at the back is piping up, "C'mere!" So, ignoring the teacher's harsh look, he does so.  
  
The boy is blonde and has a lip piercing, isn't that against school policy? He has seen him around before, mainly with another boy who was considered a 'nice punk' in their school. Ashton wonders if the lip ring had been influenced by this 'nice punk'. The blonde shuffles his papers around before speaking, "You're Ashton, yeah?" His breath catches in his throat because he should not be known, so how does this boy know his name?  
  
Ashton nods, his smile slightly fading. "Name's Luke." Again, Ashton nods. He can feel the teacher's gaze burning into the back of his head and he is all nerves and trembles but Luke is none of these, he wonders how it is that the boy can remain so calm.  
  
"Boys you have two minutes. Go outside and talk!" The teacher calls and immediately Ashton is shuffling out of the classroom and into the corridor as does Luke. In the corridor they stare at each other for only a moment before Luke is bursting into conversation again, "Cal actually barely comes to class during sixth period but if the 'office' really needs him, he usually hangs out in the old 7D classroom where all the drama class props are stored now."  
  
Ashton smiles, thankful, and says with a small voice, "Thanks...There's just something he needs to know." Luke only nods in reply before wandering back into the classroom and Ashton can hear the teacher reprimanding him from the outside, "Lucas! You can't just up and have conversation with some other student while class is going on!"  
  
Ashton does not stick around long enough to hear Luke's reply - He's already heading to the old classroom of 7D.

When he arrives at the door that leads into the prop room he hesitates. Really, what _is_ he doing? What does he expect to happen? Surely nothing in his favour would occur so why is he even trying?

Before he can answer any of his self-pitying questions, the sound of soft humming emerges from the other side of the door. A melody he has heard a thousand times over but still cannot put a name to.

Shaky fingers grip the handle and tug it downwards while equally as shaky arms push the door open then shut. There is a small clatter when he walks in and his head is already reeling. He should go, _he should go_ – but his feet are taking him nowhere but forward. Steady feet bring him to the boy sitting by a pile of costumes that have not been worn in years.

Brown eyes bore into his own and Ashton falters. “Hey…” Is all he manages. He is scared, he is so, _so_ scared because Calum has yet to smile and he feels as if he has interrupted something sacred.

A moment passes. Then, breathy laughter that sounds so pained but a smile so bright that the old prop room does not feel as dark and dreary anymore.

Calum’s voice is airy and if Ashton paid him the attention he paid Maths then he definitely would not have caught it, “Hey Ash.” His heart drops to his stomach in the best possible way.

“You know my name?” He asks, watching the way Calum wrings his beanie together – it reminds him of his own nervous habits. The boy glances up at Ashton and nods in reply. A silence settles but not really, rather it hangs unpleasantly in the air.

And then Ashton’s heart is dropping in the worst way possible because Calum has tears pooling in his eyes and there is not a thing he can do. He does not try to pry however curious he is – he is fairly certain that nobody has ever seen their Sunshine cry at school. He does not know what to do.

In a flustered panic, he grabs Calum by the hand and pulls him up. His feet wobble but Ashton steadies him. Water droplets fall to the floor in uneven interludes. Ashton is not thinking when he, still holding Calum by the hand, retrieves his iPod from his back pocket and presses shuffle.

The room fills with the sounds of gentle strumming and Ashton already knows what song he has shuffled to. _Fitting,_ he thinks as courage washes over him. He wraps his arms around Calum in an embrace and within moments they are swaying.

_Right now it feels too humbling, to tell you what I want._

Calum buries his face into the crook of Ashton’s neck and exhales. If it tickles, Ashton does not show it. They move back and forth, _back and forth._ The last thing Ashton wants is to break this magic spell that has been cast.  

There is the sound of shuffling feet outside the door and Ashton realises that it is no longer sixth period. He should tell Calum but telling Calum would cause him to leave his arms and Ashton really does not want that. However, it is the right thing to do and so he does it.

“Calum…It’s time to home go.” Calum laughs, truly, but all Ashton wants is to sink into the floor. _How embarrassing_ , his face is beet red. Calum pulls back and his tears are gone and in its place is a small, bashful smile on his face. Ashton puts away his embarrassment and instead revels at the side of Calum he is seeing.

Idly, Ashton notes that the song on his iPod has yet again changed.

Calum looks to the 1900s outfit that is laying across the table when he speaks, “Thank you.” It is almost a whisper. The shuffling of feet outside has ceased and Ashton thinks his heart is beating louder than anything.

He looks back to Ashton, takes a step forward and presses the swiftest of kisses to his cheek before pulling back, eyes wistful. Ashton’s head is spinning and he watches through doe eyes as Calum walks to the door, smiles one of his small smiles, says a quiet ‘see you round Ash’ and then disappears out of sight.

_And I will stop the story on my favourite part, where you and I began, where you and I began._

**Author's Note:**

> ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ kik me if you want: shmu.


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